Dreams

1. DREAMS…
WHAT DO THEY MEAN???
DREAM THEORIES

2. Information-Processing
Dreams sift, sort and fix the
day’s experiences into
memory
REM sleep facilitates memory

3. Evidence
People who get more REM sleep
have higher scores on memory
exams

4. Physiological Theory
 Dreams provide the sleeping brain with
periodic stimulation that helps preserve
brain’s neural pathways
 Evidence- Infants spend more time in
REM sleep than older people

5. Cognitive Theory
 Dreams are a natural part of brain
maturation and development
 They draw on our working concepts and
knowledge
 Evidence- The dreams of small children
are more like a slide show.

6. Problem Solving Theory
Dreams are the continuity of
waking thought but in dreams you
are not constrained by logic or
realism like you are when you are
awake

7. Evidence
People self-report that they solve
problems in their dreams

8. SIGMUND FREUD
Manifest Content: The story line of
the dream
Latent Content: The hidden meaning
(symbols) within the dream (This is
what Freud was really interested in)
Dreams are key to understanding
inner-conflict

9. FREUD
Carl Jung (Freud’s student) picked up
and expanded where Freud left off
Jung believed that you could
“decode” your dreams

10. Evidence
 There is no scientific evidence for this
theory.

11. Activation-Synthesis Theory
 Dreams are a product of activity from pons
and/or brainstem
 Cerebral Cortex attempts to make sense
of neuron firings by creating a story
 DREAMS HAVE NO MEANING!

12. Evidence
 PET scans and other imaging techniques
provide evidence for this.